Spplaine names team for today’s Lisbon Nations’ Cup

SHOW Jumping manager Robert Splaine has announced the Irish team to compete at the Portuguese Nations’ Cup in Lisbon on Friday evening. Drawn fourth of 11 teams to compete, one new horse and one new rider will distinguish the Irish quartet, with 25 year-old Ross Mulholland from Co. Meath making his senior Nations’ Cup debut, while Billy Twomey will introduce his new mount, the ten year-old Vangelis S gelding Diaghilev. The Irish team will jump in the following order: Billy Twomey/Diaghilev Niall Talbot/Nicos de la Cense Bertram Allen/Romanov Ross Mulholland/Carpe Diem. Twomey’s Diaghilev was previously owned by Britain’s Anna Edwards, who had great success with the horse – competing him up to five star level and winning the three star Millstreet Grand Prix in 2012. Under his new rider the gelding delivered two clear rounds last month at the La Baule show in France. Ross Mulholland rides for Olympic bronze medallist Cian O’Connor at his Karlswood Stables in Co. Meath and has had good results this year, both at the Sunshine Tour in Spain and at Magna Racino in Austria. Lisbon is part of the Europe Division Two in the Furusiyya Nations’ Cup series, and Ireland’s result will not affect the country’s scoring in Division One, which finishes with the Aga Khan Trophy competition at the Dublin Horse Show in August.